MediaBuyerPlanner: Kid Nation, CBS’s controversial reality show that sent 40 kids off to “start their own town,” pulled a solid 3.0 adults 18-49 rating for its premiere Wednesday night, according to Nielsen overnights (via Media Life).
It won the slot in 18-49s, despite the fact that it aired on a competitive night and lost in its first half hour to Fox’s new sitcom, Back to You. Kid Nation finished just behind the premiere of NBC’s Deal or No Deal in total viewers. ABC, however, has not rolled out its fall shows yet, and its Pushing Daisies, which will air at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, is expected to do well.
Kid Nation generated a good bit of publicity when opponents claimed the network violated child labor laws when filming the kids in difficult conditions for 40 days in a New Mexico “ghost town.”
Fox’s Back to You averaged a 3.1, winning its 8 p.m. half hour in both 18-49s and total viewers, while Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay averaged a 3.1 in 18-49s. The two shows tied for the top rating for any show on network TV Wednesday night.
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- CBS Stations in Top Markets Screen ‘Kid Nation’ at Schools
- CBS Stands Steadfastly behind Controversial ‘Kid Nation’
- Fox Deploys Faux News Vans, Fake Anchors to L.A., N.Y.
- ABC, CBS Expected to Go Neck and Neck on Wednesdays
- CBS Introduces ‘Lord-of-the-Flies’-Type Reality Show
- NBC Announces ‘Bionic Woman,’ Four Other Dramas
- Toys ‘R’ Us Launches ‘Deal or No Deal’ Campaign
